Toothbrush



p 8 1956 M; G. NEWLIN 2,763,020

TOOTHBRU-SH Filed May 20; 1955 INVENTOR. I Mali/7') G. IVEWL/IV BYA770NEY6 Unite rates Patent TOOTHBRUSH Monty G. Newlin, Paoli, Ind.

Application May 20, 1955, Serial No. 509,933

2 Claims. (Cl..15184) This invention relates to a tooth brush, and moreparticularly has reference to a brush composed of separate components,one of which is adapted to provide a receptacle for the brush when thesame is not in use and is further adapted to provide a container for atube of tooth paste, and the other of which constitutes a brush head andassociated handle portion.

One object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as described inwhich, when the brush is to be used, it can be readily detached from thecontainer portion, and then attached to one end of said containerportion, thus to cause the container portion to define a handleextension upon the brush.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as describedwherein, when the brush is in use, the brush portion will effectivelyinterengage with the container portion in such a manner as to insureagainst separation of said portions While the teeth are being brushed.

A further object is to so design the container portion as to cause thetoothpaste-receiving part thereof to form an abutment within thebrush-head-receiving part, that will engage the brush head at its innerend to properly locate the same within the container portion and toprevent movement of the brush head beyond a predetermined, insertedposition thereof.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as describedwhich can be manufactured at low cost, and will be particularly adaptedfor use by travelers, due to the adaptability of the tooth brush forbeing, when not in use, maintained in a compact assembly occupyingminimum amount of space.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as statedwhich, due to its adaptability to be disassembled and maintained at anoverall length approximately half its length when in use, can be carriedin the pocket so that persons working in offices or other locations awayfrom home can brush their teeth after each meal.

A further object is to provide a tooth brush as described which can bemanufactured at low cost, considering the benefits to be obtained fromthe use thereof, from inexpensive, readily obtainable components such asmolded plastic or the like.

Other objects will appear from .the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views andwherein:

Figure l is an exploded view of a tooth brush formed according to thepresent invention, portions being shown in section, with the brushportion being shown as it appears immediately prior to attachment to thecontainer portion when the brush is to be used;

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinalsection of the tooth paste tube holder per se;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse section on line 33 of Figure 1, withthe brush head housed in the container portion;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view on an enlarged scale of thecontainer portion, as seen from the line 4-4 of Figure 1;-and

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on line5-'5 of Figure 4, the dotted lines showing the base of the brush portionas it appears when connected to the container portion.

At 16 there has been designated a container portion which includes atubular body at one end thereof formed with an axial, elongated recess12 opening upon said end of the container portion, and closed at itsother end. The body 10 is of circular cross section in the illustratedembodiment, and integral with the closed end of the body and projectinglongitudinally of the body be yond said closed end, is a fiat bottomwall 14 of a brush head housing of U-shaped cross section (see Figure 3)having, integral with and extending upwardly from op posite sides of thebottom wall 14, side walls 16 integrally provided at their upper endswith inwardly turned longitudinal lips 13.

As shown in Figure l, the provision of the cylindrical body ill, inassociation with a flat bottom wall i i paralleling but offset laterallyfrom the longitudinal center line of the body Llll, defines at theclosed end of the body a sloping abutment 26, for a purpose to be madepresently apparent, said abutment being disposed adjacent the inner endof the brush head housing, said inner end of the brush head housingbeing formed open.

Removably seated in the axial recess 12 is an elongated, cylindrical,tooth paste tube holder member 22. The member 22 is formed open at oneend and is closed at its other end, the closed end of the member 22seating against the closed end of the recess 12 in the inserted positionof said member .22. The open end of member 22 is normally closed by aplug 24, and said plug is recessed within the open end of the tubularbody 10 in the housed position of member 22.

To facilitate extraction of the member 22, there is formed in the wallof body it), at the open end thereof, diametrically opposed arcuaterecesses 26 adapted to permit one to grasp the plug 24 between the thumband forefinger to remove member 22.

Member 22 is adapted to hold a tube of tooth paste or the like, and onremoval of the plug 24 following ex:- traction of member 22 from thetubular body ill, the tooth paste tube can be removed, to squeeze aportion of the contents thereof onto the head of the tooth brush.

The brush portion of the tooth brush has been desig nated at 28, and forthe greatest part of its length is formed as a straight, elongated,relatively wide, flat bar 28. Embedded in the bar 28 at one end thereofare tufts of bristles 30, and at its other end, bar 2% is integral witha cylindrical enlargement 32, having an axial recess 34 of diameterequal to the outer diameter of tubular body 10.

A rubber band 36 or other resilient element is extendedcircumferentially of the tubular body 16 intermediate opposite endsthereof, normally seating in a circumferential groove 38 formedin theouter surface of .body 10.

Assuming that the device is to be stored,- the brush portion is insertedthrough the brush head housing, to the position shown in Figure 3, sothat the bar 28 and enlargement 32 are disposed in side by side,longitudinally contacting relation with the tubular body 10. The elasticelement 36 is stretched preliminary to insertion of the brush portion inthe brush head housing, so as to extend not only about the body 10, butalso about the bar 28, thus to connect the brush and container portionsagainst relative longitudinal movement.

In the insertion of the brush portion, the abutment 20 serves to engagethe series of bristles at the inner end of the bristle assembly, so asto limit movement of the brush portion during insertion toward the leftin Figure 1 beyond a position in which the lips 18 will engage againstopposite sides of bar 28 throughout the length of the lips, with thelips being substantially coterminous with the length of the bristleassembly 30.

When the device is to be used for brushing teeth, the brush portion isdisengaged from the container portion. The holder member 22 is removedfrom tubular body 10, and the tooth paste tube is taken out of saidholder member. The contents of the tube are squeezed onto the brushhead, after which the tube is put back into the member 22 and the plug24 is applied to cap the member 22. The member 22 is then reinserted inthe axial recess 12, and the outer end of the tubular body is nowpressed into the recess 34 of cylindrical enlargement 22, in whichrecess it will fit snugly so as to prevent relative separation of theparts during use of the brush.

It will be understood that the housing 14, 16, 16 is formed of aflexible, resilient plastic, so as to permit spreading of the side walls16 during the insertion of the I brush head. Further, the side walls 16,under these circumstances, will tend to flex inwardly into firmengagement with the opposite sides of the bar 28, thus to cooperate withthe rubber band 36 and abutment 26 in holding the container and brushsurfaces in proper relationship to one another during periods of non-useof the device.

It will be apparent that the device, when the brush and containerportions are connected in side by side relation, will occupy a spacewhich, in length, is approximately half that used by the brush when thebrush and container portions are connected in end to end relation. Thus,a highly desirable feature of the invention resides in its being capableof storage in a relatively small area, such as in a small articleholding compartment of a suit case or the like, or, alternatively, inthe pocket of a suit.

Still further, the construction is so designed as to permit manufactureof the device at a relatively low cost, considering the benefits to beobtained from the use thereof, and additionally, the device, when inuse, provides a tooth brush of full length, having an elongated handledefined by the bar 28 and the container portion, thus to make maximumeflicient use of the brush.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated nddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A separable tooth brush comprising a container portion including anelongated, tubular body open at one end and closed at its other end,said body being adapted to receive a tooth paste tube or the like, abrush head housing integral with the body at one end thereof, saidhousing including a bottom wall projecting longitudinally of the tubularbody beyond one end thereof and side walls integral with and extendingupwardly from opposite side edges of the bottom wall, said side Wallshaving inwardly turned lips at their upper ends; and a brush portioncomprising an elongated bar, a brush head on one end of the 4 bar, and acylindrical, axially recessed enlargement on the other end of the bar,said enlargement being adapted to receive the open end of the tubularbody to dispose the brush portion and container portions in longitudinalalignment to provide a handle on the totoh brush, said housing beingadapted to receive the brush head with the lips engaging the head duringperiods of non-use of the tooth brush, the closed end of thetubular bodyextending as a transverse abutment within the housing to limit movementof the head inwardly of the housing, said lips engaging opposite sidesof the bar on insertion of the brush head within the housing, the sidewalls of the housing being of flexible formation, and being resilientlytensioned to engage against the respective sides of the bar to hold thebrush head within the housing, the container portion further includingan elastic element extending circumferentially of said body, saidelement being distendable to receive the bar in the housed position ofthe brush head to connect the container portion and brush portions inside by side relation.

2. A separable tooth brush comprising a container portion including anelongated, tubular body open at one end and closed at its other end,said body being adapted to receive a tooth paste tube or the like, abrush head housing integral with the body at one end thereof, saidhousing including a bottom wall projecting longitudinally of the tubularbody beyond one end thereof and side walls integral with and extendingupwardly from opposite side edges of the bottom wall, said side Wallshaving inwardly turned lips at their uper ends; and a brush portioncomprising an elongated bar, a brush head on one end of the bar, and acylindrical, axially recessed enlargement on the other end of the bar,said enlargement being adapted to receive the open end of the tubularbody to dispose the brush portion and container portions in longitudinalalignment to provide a handle on the tooth brush, said housing beingadapted to receive the brush head with the lips engaging the head duringperiods of non-use of the tooth brush, the closed end of the tubularbody extending as a transverse abutment within the housing to limitmovement of the head inwardly of the housing, said lips engagingopposite sides of the bar on insertion of the brush head within thehousing, the side Walls of the housing being of flexible formation, andbeing resiliently tensioned to engage against the respective sides ofthe bar to hold the brush head within the housing, the container portionfurther including an elastic element extending circumferentially of saidbody, said element being distendable to receive the bar in the housedposition of the brush head to connect the container portion and brushportions in side by side relation, the container portion furtherincluding a cylindrical, tubular member formed open at one end andclosed at its other end, said member being removably in- Sertable in thetubular body, and a plug removably clos ing the open end of said member,said tubular body at the open end thereof having diametrically opposedfingerreceiving recesses exposing corresponding diametrically opposedportions of said plug to facilitate removal of said member from thebody.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,232,933 Kimura July 10, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 225,972 Switzerland Mar.15, 1943

